Good Neighbor Podcast: Mississauga

Beats, Rhymes & PSPs: The Fun Side of a Local Songwriter

• Alanja Simmons

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Meet Moreno Zulu, a local songwriter whose creative journey began in 2013 with a friend's suggestion to try rapping. What started as casual basement recordings quickly blossomed when his first YouTube upload generated unexpected enthusiasm from his peers. Moreno's story exemplifies how passion, discipline, and being in "the right place at the right time" can create remarkable opportunities.

One defining moment came when 15-year-old Moreno participated in the Freedom Project music education program. Alongside his classmates, he helped bring Wu-Tang Clan's Jiza to Toronto for a university lecture. Sitting beside a hip-hop legend in a packed auditorium left an indelible impression that continues to influence his artistic development to this day. This early exposure to music industry success showed Moreno what was possible through dedication to his craft.

As a versatile artist working across hip-hop, pop, and R&B, Moreno has cultivated a core audience within the urban community while maintaining broad appeal. He challenges prevailing misconceptions about the music industry, asserting that despite high-profile scandals, many good people work in music with artists' best interests at heart. Beyond his professional pursuits, Moreno reveals himself as someone who "doesn't take life too seriously," enjoying social activities, new experiences, and even collecting vintage gaming systems. With hundreds of videos on YouTube and an active Instagram presence, Moreno invites listeners to discover more about his music and personality. As he puts it before signing off: "Stay tuned because there's more coming."

Intro:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbour's come together. Here's your host, Alanja Simmons.

Alanja Simmons:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a songwriter? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbour, Moreno, Zulu.

Moreno Zulu:

Yes, yes.

Alanja Simmons:

How's it going?

Moreno Zulu:

It's going great, honestly. The day's going smooth. Um, I'm ready to work. I'm feeling creative.

Alanja Simmons:

Amazing. We're excited to learn about you and your business. Tell us about Mo Reno Zulu.

Moreno Zulu:

So I started songwriting in 2013. My first recordings was in a friend's basement. He told me that I should rap. And at first, I didn't take it too serious. And then I thought about it. And then that following Monday, I went to the house and then we recorded our first song. We uploaded it onto YouTube, and then we played it at school the next day, and everyone just went crazy. So that's kind of how my music journey started. And then I remember in the following years, I believe it was 2014. Yeah, 2014, I was a part of a music education program. It was called Freedom Project. And me and the other students of the class, we were able to bring Jiza from Wu Tang to Toronto. We were able to bring him to do a UFT lecture, and it was successful. I remember meeting him when I was 15. Sat beside him, the whole university was packed. And just being around that energy and seeing that happen at such a young age, I feel like it made a huge impression on me.

Alanja Simmons:

So and how did you get into this business?

Moreno Zulu:

I would say it was honestly just through connections and just being at the right place at the right time. And I feel like there was also an element that was outside of my control because there's just certain people who I met that I couldn't have planned. It was just like if you could say the universe or the stars aligning, it was really just being at the right place at the right time and honestly a lot of practice, you know, because if I wasn't dedicated or disciplined with my art, and if I didn't have that passion, I feel like I never would have got the right opportunities.

Alanja Simmons:

What are some myths or misconceptions in your industry?

Moreno Zulu:

I feel like the biggest misconception is that everyone in the music industry is evil, and I know there's there's the whole P. Diddy situation out there, and people people believe the industry is bad and everyone is out to get you, but it's really not true. You know, there's people in the music industry who are great people, and they can have your best interests, and I feel like another huge misconception is that money is evil and money changes people, and money is corrupt, but I feel like that's not true. If you're an artist and you have a great team around you and you have a vision, if you have money, you can really be of benefit to the world and impact the future generation of music creators.

Alanja Simmons:

We know marketing is the heart of every business. Who are your target customers and how do you attract them?

Moreno Zulu:

For me, my target audience. The thing about it is I feel like I've always been able to cater to different sorts of audiences because I do hip-hop, pop, and RB, so it's like three different genres, but there's huge similarities. But I would say the heart and the core of my audience is just the urban community. Yeah, yeah. I would say the heart of my audience is the urban community for sure.

Alanja Simmons:

And have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?

Moreno Zulu:

My own podcast never, except maybe when I was younger. I thought about doing voiceovers over like video games, but podcast, my friend told me I should do it, but no, I never took it serious.

Alanja Simmons:

And outside of work, what do you do for fun?

Moreno Zulu:

For fun, I'm a very social person, so for me, my idea of fun is honestly going out, you know, going to a new place or seeing a place that I'd never been to before. Like I remember the other weekend, my friends and I, we went pinkballing, and it was just it was just a fun experience because I feel like it just breaks the norm of of what we do all the time. So yeah, I'm I'm definitely into trying new things. And I really from time to time I still play video games. Like I recently bought a PSP, and it's the PSP from 2003, so it's like it's like really vintage, and it's just fun playing old games like Grand Theft Auto. Yeah, I still play video games for fun too, when I have time, or yeah, amazing .

Alanja Simmons:

Moreno, Please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Moreno Zulu.

Moreno Zulu:

One thing you should remember is that I'm a very fun person, and I don't take life too serious. That's one thing you gotta remember about me.

Alanja Simmons:

Yeah, and how can our listeners learn more about Moreno Zulu?

Moreno Zulu:

If you go to my YouTube, I have a I have like over 100 videos, probably over 150 videos. You can see videos of me talking to the camera back in like 2017, 18. And you can find me on my Instagram. I have so many posts. I release a lot of content, and just rotating between my YouTube and my Instagram, you can get a great idea of who I am. Amazing.

Alanja Simmons:

Well, Moreno, I really appreciate you being on the show, and we wish you and your business the best moving forward.

Moreno Zulu:

Oh my god, thank you so much. I appreciate you, and yeah, stay tuned because there's more coming. Amazing.

Ontro:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gmpmississauga.com. That's gmpmississauga.com.om or call 365 366 1278.